Application questions from a student with prior health complications

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Hello out there! I am a 22 year old college senior in Georgia. At the end of Spring semester I will be graduating with a Bachelor's in Psychology. I'd love to go back to school and get a nursing degree; working in the health field has always been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. Unfortunately, my junior year in high school I get really sick and have had health complications ever since then; that was 7 years ago. :crying2: Nobody could figure out what was wrong with me, so I continued through high school and moved onto college assuming that sick was the way I had to live my life. But amazingly, this November a doctor found out the problems and fixed them!! Now I am feeling my best and each day is only getting better. :yeah:

The question I need some advice on is this - because of my illness my grades suffered a fair amount. The biggest blow that I feel happened was taking AP 1 two times and getting a D each time. Some of my other prerequisite classes were low grades too. Has anyone else been in this position?? Will that ruin my chances of getting into nursing school?? I will have letters from doctors that I can send in with my application to vouch for my situation but I am worried that there is no point in even trying. Can anyone give me some advice? :confused:

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Specializes in NICU.

There is NO reason to give up without even trying! If it really is something you want to do...put yourself out there, stand up for yourself and your situation.

You don't want to end up 10 years down the road saying, "what if I'd..." Trust me, rejection is a lot better than regret!!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Congrats on finally getting control of your health issues. Sounds like you have a new lease on life and are ready to move ahead to accomplish your goals. But it appears that you also need to declare "academic bankruptcy" in order to hoist your GPA.

I would advise you to re-take your pre-reqs and get those A's you need. GPA is a critical factor for admission to nursing programs because it is an accurate indicator of your intellectual horsepower. Basic sciences (like A&P) are the foundation of nursing practice. You have to have a superior knowledge of these areas before you can deal with - or become competent in - clinical practice areas. Many nursing programs will allow you to calculate GPA based only on your latest (best) grades rather than cumulative.

Best of luck to you!

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My school calculates GPA based on your last ten hours.

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